"It would punish people who are already forced to live in bad conditions," said Nadia Marin-Molina, the executive director of the Workplace Project.

But for the most part, the Workplace Project could manage the intensity of the debate, said Jennifer Gordon, the organization's founder.

She landed at the Workplace Project through a summer internship, and found it a perfect fit.

She has organized Hispanic workers and day laborers on Long Island for a nonprofit group, the Workplace Project.

The Workplace Project lobbied for and won a strong wage enforcement law in New York state.

Gordon was the executive director of the Workplace Project from 1993 to 1998.

Jennifer L. Gordon, 34, won $260,000 as founder of the Workplace Project, which fights employment abuse and discrimination against immigrant workers.

Ms. Gordon, who left the Workplace Project last year, said she was especially grateful for the MacArthur grant right now.

In Farmingdale, the Workplace Project, an advocacy group, has helped to turn a storefront into a community house.

The Workplace Project has been trying to help the laborers organize themselves under the umbrella of the United Day Laborers.